Grit, determination, passion, hard work, continuous learner, gratitude…
All the above describe the simple and unassuming Rajadurai from Villupuram.
Raja was born and brought up in a humble backdrop with his parents working as brick kiln workers.
At the brick kiln, the work would be only during nights thereby affecting their health as the sleeping pattern gets altered. Unfortunately, to make ends meet, this was the best his parents could do.
To ensure Raja and his siblings have good education, his parents used to work as agricultural field laborers. But with lack of rains that was not a very viable alternative.
In spite of trying circumstances, Raja had big dreams and aspired to become a Doctor. This dream took seed in his mind at a very young age, when his brother was ill and no doctor could appropriately diagnose the illness for 3 months.
With life’s ups and downs, mostly downs life was continuing. Up to 9th standard, Raja studied in a Government Higher Secondary School. After 9th, a private school gave him an opportunity for free education for the next three years i.e., class 10th, 11th, 12th.
At Senthamangalam, Villupuram district, Raja scored 479 marks in the 10th grade. So, they offered him free education for my 11th and 12th grades.
While Raja had dreamt of becoming a Doctor, he finally ended up being an Engineer.
Raja tried for Medical but had a cut-off deficit of 0.25. He scored 193.75 for which the cut-off was missed by 0.25. Which meant, he would have to join a private or self-financing college. But then, that would be a huge financial burden for his parents and therefore he had to choose Engineering as he would get a seat in a government college.
But there was a glimmer of hope in Raja’ life when he chanced upon ILP during summer vacation. ILP had organized a session to collect details about the kids of brick kiln workers with the aim of supporting them and guiding them to help them achieve their educational dreams.
Raja’s struggles continued during the 2nd year of Engineering. While he completed his first year, his educational loan was not sanctioned during the 2nd year. ILP stepped in and provided him the scholarship to complete his Engineering.
Raja had even thought of working at a Xerox shop due to lack of confidence and communication skills. ILP team counselled him, “don’t waste your life by being in a Xerox shop in Villupuram”. This gave Raja a confidence boost and the belief that with his knowledge, hard work and determination, he can not only scale up but also be a role model for other youth to emulate in the same situation.
After completing his Engineering, Raja got his first job. While Raja wanted to do just design works, he was unwillingly loaded with other tasks such as vendor management, operations, finance and people management. During his tenure there, Raja detested these additional tasks thinking he would lose his design skills.
But looking back, today as Raja runs his own manufacturing unit, he is thankful that he got a practical hands-on experience of various departments that need to work in tandem to run a successful business.
After a year, Raja quit his first job company and moved on to another company where he continued for a year and a half.
Raja always felt that he lacked in communication skills and was unable to scale up and this continued to be his drawback always. Once again ILP stepped in to arrange communication skills coaching for him which gave him the much-needed boost to confidently present himself and his ideas in the market.
In 2019, armed with new found confidence and enthusiasm, Raja set-up his own manufacturing unit – CDI – Custom Design and Innovation. Today, Raja employs 3 people under him and has completed a whopping 1900 projects in just 4 years with 97% of projects meeting customers’ vision.
What an awesome journey? But Raja knows, this is just the beginning and he has miles to go.
In this 4-year long journey of setting-up his own manufacturing unit, Raja encountered multiple problems such as not finding the right talent, unable to offer great package, training the new joiners who get trained and disappear without even informing…etc.
Raja takes pride in saying that his start-up journey started with the best investment provided to him by ILP i.e., laptop. The laptop that ILP gave him when he was a student is close to his heart and he kick-started his Founder’s journey by using it for doing his business as a good omen.
But with Raja’s persistence and hard work, no hurdle is too big to cross. He has big plans to make his start-up CDI a well-known name in the field of industrial design.
What’s more? Raja is a man of principles and ever grateful to ILP for their unwavering support at every step of his education. He now wants to do something in return as a token of gratitude for all the support ILP has offered him.
While ILP supports multiple students every year with education loans, Raja wants to train the interested students in the field of design and manufacturing and also offer them a job. He wants to be a support system for other deserving students to boost their confidence.
Raja is also pursuing his MBA in Finance to strengthen his knowledge which will further help him in his business.
With such an attitude, tenacity, resolve and dedication, there is no stopping Raja from achieving his dreams and helping others achieve their dreams too.
If you know any deserving students looking out for a job in design engineering field, please feel free to contact Rajadurai on 9524887985 or email at cdismartwork19@gmail.com
